Hollywood finally gave visually gifted horror-film maestro Sam Raimi his due with the director's chores for Marvel's "Spider-Man" in 2002, and his webslinger tale starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man thrilled beyond expectations with high-flying special effects and raw character emotion.

But Raimi and Maguire didn't hit their stride until 2004's "Spider-Man 2," which far exceeded the original film.

The daring sequel not only introduced the best villain of the entire trilogy in Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), it confronted a tangled web of emotional issues including Peter's strong romantic feelings for his longtime friend, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), and the tormenting responsibility Peter felt for his Uncle Ben's (Cliff Robertson) death.

Also in an uncharacteristic move, Raimi also unmasked Spider-Man in public in the film's thrilling runaway train scene, a general no-no in the superhero genre. The payoff here, though, is big, as is the film.